


Two Can Play That Game

by whatev3691



Category: Carmilla (Web Series), Carmilla - J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Genre: Alcohol, Broody Carmilla, Drunk Laura, F/F, Fluff, Humor, break-up, but also sad, post episode 2.16
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-28
Updated: 2015-07-28
Packaged: 2018-04-11 18:32:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4447151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatev3691/pseuds/whatev3691
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Laura tries to give Carmilla a taste of her own flirty medicine, but the night doesn't go exactly as planned. Post episode 2.16 Hollstein breakup banter and sad feelings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Two Can Play That Game

" _No more thoughts about us nasty vampires...oh excuse me, let me just stick my whole chest in your face_ ," Laura grumbled as she dug through Carmilla's closet.

If it was just living with Carmilla, Laura could handle it. After all, she had endured the roommate from the Black Lagoon for an entire semester before, she could do it again. But while Carmilla might have been an inconsiderate jerkface during most of that time, she usually (after the first month or so) hadn't gone especially out of her way to make Laura's life miserable. Plus, as they had gotten to know each other, the atmosphere in their little dorm room had gotten considerably warmer. _Considerably._

Now, things were back to sub-zero temperatures. When Ned Stark (RIP) had warned that “Winter was coming,” he couldn’t have imagined how frosty it could get between two ex-girlfriends living in one house. But Laura could take the cold shoulder, the dirty looks from Mattie, and the passive-aggressive remarks about her and her friends. She could even take the disgusting living conditions. It couldn't be much worse than your typical frat house.

What Laura could not take was the constant sexual teasing.

"Gah!" she exclaimed, tossing another black shirt onto the growing pile on the bed behind her. It was starting to look like the reject area outside a Hot Topic changing room. "How many black shirts does one person need?" she muttered.

Carmilla had taken to being partially undressed _a lot_. LaF, Perry, and JP had started checking around the corner before entering any room, lest they see more of Carmilla than they ever wanted. And while Laura knew the vampire liked to lounge about the house in her bathrobe on the norm, the way Carm would shoot a quick glance at Laura to check if she was watching before disrobing (oh yes, Laura had noticed those sly looks) confirmed that she was doing it to purposefully get under Laura's skin. And oh lord, how it was working.

 _Well, two can play that game, sweetheart_ , Laura thought with a smirk.

"Aha!" she cried triumphantly, having found the items she'd been searching for. She pulled them out and glanced at the mound of dark clothes sitting on the beautiful four-poster bed. The bed, Laura remembered wistfully, that she and Carmilla had comfortably shared until just a few days ago. She shook her head quickly.

"No time for reminiscing," she said to herself. "Girl the hell up, Hollis!"

With that, she shoved the rejected clothes onto the floor, where they lay with Carmilla's numerous other discarded garments that she'd been too lazy to put in the hamper.

"It's not like she'll even notice any difference," Laura said, rolling her eyes at the mess. With that, she grabbed her clothes and headed into the master bathroom to get changed.

 

* * *

 

Carmilla was laid out on the downstairs couch, reading a thick book written in a loopy, exotic-looking language while languidly sipping at a Thermos of blood. Her agile limbs were sprawled in all directions, as usual, taking up twice as much room as someone of her small size normally would. She was in her happy place, or as happy a place as she could ever be in her current situation.

Of course, that could never last long. Her peace was interrupted by loud, stomping footsteps coming down the staircase. She knew Laura was the only one home, and considering the girl weighed 120 pounds at most, she'd either decided to start a new fashion trend by wearing cement blocks for shoes, or she was deliberately making a racket to annoy Carmilla. Obviously it was the latter.

"Excuse me Elephant Woman," Carmilla called to her without looking up from her book, "some people are trying to read here, so it would be nice if you could stop trying to wake the whole campus with yo-ou-"

Carmilla choked on her blood.

Laura had gotten to the bottom of the staircase and was standing in front of Carmilla, looking supremely proud of herself. Wide-eyed, Carmilla took in Laura's full appearance.

The aspiring journalist was dressed to the nines. Or the tens, or elevens, or whatever number equals insanely hot. On top she wore one of Carmilla's lacy, flowy, sheer black tops that leaves little to the imagination, with a bright red bra on underneath. On bottom were Carmilla's trademark leather pants, and athough they were a tad long at the hem, they otherwise fit Laura like a tight, shiny glove. Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail showing off her smooth neck, and she wore patent leather black heels to complete the outfit. While Laura Hollis would never be tall, the height from the heels gave her an added air of maturity. Plus, they made her legs and ass look great.

While Carmilla was usually ready with an arsenal of quips for any occasion, Laura had actually managed to stun her into silence. Which only caused Laura's smug smirk to grow even wider. When Carmilla managed to recover her senses and swallow her blood, she sputtered,

"W-what in the bloody hell do you think you're wearing?"

Laura looked down at herself and shrugged like she was wearing a ratty T-shirt and sweatpants. "Oh, these old things?" Laura asked coquettishly with a little twirl. "What's wrong, you don't like it?"

Carmilla's slight blush and lack of response told Laura all she needed to know. She bent down directly in front of Carmilla to "adjust her shoe," giving her a perfect view of her leather clad behind. She didn't need to look to know that Carmilla was checking her out, especially because she was quick (but not quick enough) to hide her face in her book again once Laura stood up.

"If you must know, the Zetas found some beer in their basement that managed to escape being taken by Mattie's goons, so they decided to throw a campus-wide party. Sort of a peace offering between the warring student groups.”

“Drink the hate away, how very collegiate,” Carmilla sneered with an eye roll. Laura ignored her.

“We all decided it would be a good idea for us to have a break from fighting evil and let off some steam,” Laura continued. “I didn't have any party-appropriate clothes so I borrowed some of yours. You don't mind, do you?"

"What if I do mind?" Carmilla muttered under her breath. Having recovered from her initial shock, she laid back on the couch and adopted her usual air of indifference. "Well I'm sure the Ginger Giant will like it. Where is the rest of the Dimwit Squad, anyway?"

Laura crossed her arms and shot an annoyed look at her surly ex. "I'm not wearing it for Danny, I'm not wearing it for anyone. I'm wearing it for me." Well, that was almost true. "They're all getting ready at the Summer Society House. They didn't want to subject themselves to your incessant comments and ridicule. And I don't blame them," she finished.

"Congratulations," Carmilla drawled, her attention back on her book. "I hope you have fun with those sweaty, groping Neanderthals and overzealous Amazonians."

"I will!" she replied. "Have fun sitting here all alone!"

"Don't worry, I will!" Carmilla spat back at her. They glared at each other for a moment, the tension thick with a hundred unspoken words.

With a harumph, Laura wheeled around (as fast as she could in five inch heels) and stormed out the door, slamming it behind her. The reverberations of the slam rang out in Carmilla's head long after Laura was gone.

 

* * *

 

Many hours later, Carmilla laid in the exact same position as when Laura had left. The only evidence that any time had passed was the different page Carmilla was on in her book. It was much closer to the end than before. She was so engrossed in the book that she didn't notice the door had opened until it slammed shut, making her jump and practically drop her heavy tome.

"Stupid, painful heels. Why does anyone wear these?" Carmilla heard a faint, fuzzy voice coming from the foyer. She also heard the sounds of someone stumbling and hopping around, like they were trying to pull off their shoes while still standing. "They're a symbol of the patriarchy's oppression over womankind!"

At that exclamation, one shiny black heel went flying past Carmilla's head and banged against the stairs. Carmilla might have been pissed at the potential damage to the priceless apartment if she wasn’t so amused. The other heel quickly joined its partner, with their owner following suit. Laura wobbled into the living room. Her hair was undone from it's ponytail and fell messily around her shoulders, and her glazed-over look and erratic gait confirmed what Carmilla had already suspected. Laura was drunk.

Finally noticing the vampire on the couch, Laura sneered in a very un-Laura like way, "Oh, it's you."

Laura's voice was slurring quite a bit, and she didn't seem able to stand in one place without swaying, even barefoot. Even from feet away, Carmilla could smell the alcohol on her. She was pretty sure their next-door neighbors could smell the alcohol on her.

"Jesus cupcake, did you go swimming in the beer?" Carmilla asked her.

"No!" Laura replied indignantly. "At least, I don't think I did. A bunch of people spilled their drinks on me I think though." She was actually trying to remember if she had indeed swam in a pool of alcohol or not. Knowing the Zetas, there probably had been one at the party.

Carmilla glanced around the house and listened. No sporty ginger, no neurotic ginger, no science ginger, no anyone except the wobbly little journalist.

"You walked back here alone, drunk, across a campus literally infested with monsters, at night? I thought you were a tiny bit smarter than that, Creampuff, but I guess I was wrong." The insult was delivered in Carmilla's typically aloof, derisive manner, but from the look on her face it was obviously laced with an undercurrent of real concern.

Laura didn't notice.

"Wow Carmilla, if I didn't know any better I'd think you actually cared!" Laura said with a mix of malice and sadness. A flash of hurt crossed the vampire's face, which Laura also didn't notice.

Leaning against the wall to stop her swaying, Laura explained, "Not that it's any of your business," which in her slurred voice came out sounding like ‘bizsh-nish,’ "but I was going to ask Danny to walk me back. I was tired and not in the mood to dance anymore. But I saw she was chatting real up close like to another Summer girl, so I didn't want to intrude. And LaF, Perry, and JP were having fun, too. Turns out JP is a wizard at beer pong. He said it's because it's similar to some Victorian parlor game or something. Even Perry was getting into it."

Laura ran a hand through her hair and grimaced when it got caught in something sticky. After some careful maneuvering she was able to detangle her hand and wipe it on her pants. Well, Carmilla’s pants. "They were all enjoying themselves too much for me to ruin it. Besides, this whole 'Silas going down the tubes and everyone with it' thing is my fault to begin with so I figured I should let my friends enjoy themselves while they can.”

She sighed. “Now I just really, really, really want to go to bed."

Carmilla, having grown bored with Laura’s antics, returned to her book. “Don’t let me stop you.”

Laura shuffled over and stood in front of the couch. Carmilla continued reading, and the house was silent for a few moments. Eventually Carmilla looked up from her book at Laura, who was still standing in front of her expectantly, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

She glanced over the top of the book. "Can I help you?"

Laura pointed emphatically with both hands at the couch. "You're kind of sitting on my bed."

Oh, right. Laura had been sleeping on that very couch since the breakup. Her blanket and pillow were even folded up at the end, which Carmilla had resisted the urge to use earlier. She looked back and forth between the hard, pointy couch and Laura's dazed, exhausted face, and made a decision.

"You know what, just take the bed tonight." Even in her less-than-sober state, Laura knew this display of generosity was suspicious. She raised a disbelieving eyebrow at Carmilla, who only rolled her eyes. "I was planning on reading here all night anyway, and I don't really feel like sharing the couch with a restless girl who smells like she rolled straight out of a brewery."

Laura was too drunk and too tired to question Carmilla’s weak explanation. "Of course, it's always about you, isn’t it?" she grumbled as she turned around to head up the stairs to the master bedroom. She tripped over her discarded heels on the way up the stairs, cursing softly while Carmilla chuckled.

Once Carmilla heard her reach the top of the staircase, she figured she would finally get some peace and quiet. But moments later she was disrupted by a loud crash and a high pitched yelp from the bedroom. Carmilla closed her eyes and mentally debated her next action. It didn’t take her long to decide to throw her book down with a sigh, reluctantly get off the couch, and go up the stairs to check on her hot mess of an ex.

The door to the bedroom was open, so Carmilla peered in. She had to stifle her laughter at the sight she found before her. Laura was sprawled out face-down in a large pile of black clothing that Carmilla didn’t entirely remember being there before. Her pants were halfway down her legs.

“Um, cupcake, as comfortable as that clothes pile looks, you know there’s a perfectly good bed literally six inches away from you, right?” Carmilla snarked at her.

“I knowwwwwwww,” Laura groaned still face-down in t-shirts, her voice muffled by the fabric. “I was trying to take off these stupid, tight pants, which are like, seriously not even worth the effort, by the way, and I slipped on a piece of clothing that someone so rudely left lying about the floor.”

Carmilla didn’t think it would be helpful to point out that the someone who had left the room a mess (or, more of a mess anyway), was Laura.

The 19-year old  turned onto her side and curled up into a ball, hugging the closest shirt she could reach, pants still tangled around her knees. “I don’t think I can move. I’ll just stay right here. It’s really not so bad. It’s soft, it’s warm, and it smells like you.”

Carmilla flushed slightly. Laura was too far gone to realize what she was saying. but Carm was stone cold sober, and didn’t want to hear anything Laura most likely wouldn’t even remember she’d said. She might not act like it most of the time, but deep down Carmilla was still a gentlewoman.

The vampire ran a hand through her hair and sighed. “Alright Drunky, up you go,” she said, easily lifting Laura to her feet.

“Hey, what do you think you’re…” Laura started to protest, but Carmilla cut her off.

“Just shut up for once and let me help you. Sit,” she said, pointing at the bed.

Miraculously, Laura obeyed without another word. Carmilla stood in front of the other girl, making sure to avoid eye contact, and with a swift yank pulled off her clinging pants, throwing them on the growing mountain of clothes. Laura had the decency to look slightly embarrassed.

She crawled across the unmade bed and flopped down onto the pillows with a contented sigh. Carmilla walked around to the side of the bed and unceremoniously threw the covers over Laura, who immediately snuggled into them.

As Carmilla turned to leave, Laura asked in a sleepy voice, “Why are you helping me?”

She stopped in her tracks and glanced over her shoulder. Laura looked so small wrapped up in the covers of that enormous bed. She didn’t look like someone who could fight a kitten, much less a group of ancient supernatural creatures. For not the first time, Carmilla was reminded how utterly young and human Laura was.

Without fully facing her, Carmilla shrugged. “I just wanted to save myself from your endless complaining about neck and back pain from sleeping on the floor,” she drawled. “Maybe you’ll be less twitchy and uptight and more pleasant to live with.”

Without waiting for a response to that, Carmilla walked over to turn off the light. After she flicked it off, she headed towards the door. As she started to close it behind her, she heard Laura say something quietly in the dark. If it wasn’t for her super vampire hearing, she probably wouldn’t have even heard it. But she did.

“I miss you.”

Carmilla closed the door gently behind her, and then closed her eyes and leaned against the closed door. Once she was sure Laura had fallen asleep and wouldn’t hear her, she whispered in small, resigned voice,

 

“I miss you, too.”

 

* * *

 

When Laura woke up the next morning, the first thing she noticed was she had a splitting, pounding headache. The second thing was she was in Carmilla’s bed. And the third, and most alarming thing was she wasn’t wearing any pants.

Everything after she left the party was a blur. She couldn’t remember how she had gotten home, or what had happened afterwards. Clearly nothing too horrible had happened, since she had awoken safely in the right place alone, albeit in a different bed than normal, and with an apparent lack of pants.

As she tried to piece together the jumble of fuzzy memories floating around her clouded mind, she glanced over to the bedside table. Sitting there were three items that confused Laura until a wave of recollection of the previous night hit her and made her smile sadly.

Two Advils.

Her Tardis mug filled with water.

And an unopened package of her favorite cookies.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave comments. You can also visit me at girl-thehell-up.tumblr.com, if you like.


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